Search - Fripp & Eno :: Beyond Even (1992-2006)

Fripp and Eno get Beyond Even.

Louie Bourland | Garden Grove CA | 11/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The legendary Robert Fripp and Brian Eno have joined forces once again with "Beyond Even", a collection of unreleased pieces recorded between 1992 and 2006. The music on this CD was previously only available as a download under the title of "The Cotswold Gnomes".

While there isn't any mention as to what year each individual piece was recorded, it hardly seems to matter as the music flows at an even pace and can be essentially viewed as one single idea - a soundtrack to a non-existent movie.

A majority of the material sounds as if it were recorded around the same time as 2004's "Equatorial Stars" while other pieces are most reminiscent of Eno's 1997 solo disc "The Drop". A big twist in the entire CD is the closing track "Cross Crisis In Lust Storm" which is dominated by harsh metallic drum beats and Fripp's buzzsaw industrial-like guitar leads.

Like their previous collaborations, Fripp and Eno's "Beyond Even" contains music that is way ahead of its time and continues to show the magic these two giants can bring when placed in the same room together.

It should be noted that The initial pressing of "Beyond Even" is a 2-disc set presenting the music in two different variations. Disc one includes all 13 tracks as they were originally recorded without any segues or crossfades. Disc two presents the music in a continuous fashion with all 13 tracks forming a long 55-minute suite. Once this initial pressing sells out, the version on disc two will be the one that remains. So for the elite Fripp and Eno fans: Get this one while it lasts."

Deceptive repackaging of 'The Cotswald Gnomes'

a cure fan | 11/15/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To my astonishment, this new cd from Eno & Fripp is the same as this years 'The Cotswald Gnomes', which was a download only release from DGMlive.com. The problem with that release is that it was offered in mp3 & FLAC file format for the same price as a replicated cd since it was advertised as download only, meaning no cd release. Well folks, here is the real cd, 6 months later and repackaged and given a new title. Talk about nerve on the part of a record label. This caper has got to go down in history as the lowest a record label has ever sunk in order to bring in business! I feel so violated and ripped off to have paid $14.00 for the inferior sounding download and another $14.00 for the cd.



I honestly do not know how many stars to give this fiasco since it repulses me to no end that a record label, as well as anyone that is so talented and highly-revered as Brian Eno & Robert Fripp would actually stoop to new lows and have the nerve to repackage something they just put out and that people paid for and call it by another name since the music is actually some of the best they have done since 'Evening Star' so I am going down the middle and giving it 3 stars. If they had avoided this corporate swindle, it would get 5 full for stars since it is that good. It has elements of 'Nerve Net' with a bit of 'The Equitorial Stars' if I had to compare it slightly to some older works but really it does stand on its own.



Take this more as a warning to those who have paid full price for the download and think this is a new release like I had, it is not. For those who did not bother with all of the hassles and headaches involved in downloading 'The Cotswald Gnomes' and there were many, take my advice, stay clear of the inferior sounding download files and a get this real cd. It sounds a thousand times better that either the mp3 or even the more expensive FLAC download. And you get a real package with some great artwork from the one and only Mr. Russell Mills.



By the way, DGM actually took one reviewers advice and offered the music as one continuous piece of music as part of the double limited cd edition. You get one cd with 13 individual tracks and you get a second cd as one long continuous track which in my opinion is the way that this cd should have been heard in the first place.



But make no mistake, 'Beyond Even' IS 'The Cotswald Gnomes' in disguise. Some people may actually find this as too offensive and steeped in corporate greed to even bother buying the cd and to be honest, I couldn't blame them. What's even more, they are advertising this cd in a very sly fashion as "Selected by Brian Eno, most are issued here for the first time on CD." Yeah, that might be right, but they came out as downloads a few months earlier."

A jambalaya of sound

Eclectic | DHS, CA | 10/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I received my copy today and have already listened to both discs. The first disc plays the songs individually, the second disc blends the songs together, which must have been a mastering nightmare due to the many moods of the songs. Instead of the typical review; I share my thoughts as the music played. 1. RINGING BEAT: Ambient with a beat. 2. GASP: Electronic space exploration. 3. SNEERING LOOP: I had a dream and Brian Eno played on a PROJEKCT but the record skipped. 4. TRIPOLI 2020: Soundscape with a rhythm section, very cool. 5. BEHOLD THE CHILD: Soundscape with chanting loop, not my favorite track. 6. TIMEAN SPARKLES: The most beautiful piece but way too short. 7. DIRT LOOP: Ambient Soundscape. 8. THE IDEA OF DECLINE: Electronica, you can dance to this one. 9. DEEP INDIAN LONG: Relaxing soundscape. 10. HOPEFUL TIMEAN: Peaceful. 11. GLASS STRUCTURE: Let there be Eno and there was Eno. 12. VOICES: Let there be Fripp and there was Fripp. 13. CROSS CRISIS IN LUST STORM: Wait a minute,maybe Eno did do a PROJEKCT. ENO FRIPP GUNN. Remember this is not a review, these are my thoughts as I listened. Now buy the record and create you own thoughts, enjoy."